But I Need to Lose Weight!

Transcription

1 When Your Client Says, But I Need to Lose Weight! ASDAH Webinar

2 Our Speakers Aaron Flores, RDN Been a dietitian for 10 years Owner of Balance Variety and Moderation RDN in Calabasas, California. Expertise in eating disorders, Intuitive Eating and Health at Every Size Blogs and hosts a podcast, Dietitians Unplugged.

3 Our Speakers Julie Duffy Dillon, MS, RD, NCC, LDN, CEDRD Weight inclusive registered dietitian and eating disorder specialist Host of the Love, Food podcast series Owner of BirdHouse Nutrition Therapy in Greensboro, North Carolina Was on TLC's documentary My Big Fat Fabulous Life

4 Our Speakers Marsha Hudnall, MS, RDN, CD Registered dietitian nutritionist helping women move away from restrictive notions of food and health for over three decades President and co-owner of Green Mountain at Fox Run, a women's non-diet retreat in Vermont President of The Center for Mindful Eating

5 Our Speakers Kori Kostka, BSc, RD Registered Dietitian at the West Durham Family Health Team in Pickering, Ontario, Canada Owner of Nourished Body offering mindful eating retreats online and within the community Partnered with Under the Lilac Tree, virtual support for those waiting for eating disorder treatment Recently released a mindful eating app Appetype for Apple products

6 Q & A

7 Learning Objectives Identify common nutrition counseling blunders that can result in disengagement when a client expresses a desire for weight loss. Identify helpful counseling skills based in self-compassion, mindfulness, and immediacy to build rapport with clients and validate rather than dismiss their concerns/desire for weight loss. List strategies that clinicians can use to demonstrate why a weight-neutral approach is beneficial. Identify strategies to help clients shift their focus from losing weight to gaining health through non-restrictive, mindfulness-based interventions and strategies and improved self-care practices.

8 Question 1 Why do clients feel that they need to lose weight? Aaron Flores

9 Why do clients feel that they need to lose weight? Weight stigma and the thin ideal Conflation of health with body size

10 Question 2 Why is the pursuit of weight loss unhelpful? Marsha Hudnall

11 Why is the pursuit of weight loss unhelpful? Over 90% of people who intentionally lose weight regain the weight. As many as two-thirds of those ultimately regain more weight than they lost. (Mann, 2007) Interventions focused on weight loss through restrictive eating have minimal positive effect on health and any improvements seen are not correlated with weight loss. (Tomiyama, 2013) Health At Every Size is not anti-weight loss, it is antipursuit-of-weight-loss. A weight neutral approach is associated with statistically and clinically relevant improvements in physiological measures, health behaviors and psychosocial outcomes. (Bacon, 2011) - Deb Burgard

12 Question 3 What are things you can do as a practitioner to provide a space where clients might be more willing to explore a HAES approach? Aaron Flores Marsha Hudnall Julie Duffy Dillon

13 What can you do to provide an environment to explore HAES? Seek to understand why your client wants to lose weight. (Aaron) Take your time to build rapport before discussing clients weight loss goals. (Aaron) Validate clients feelings. (Marsha) Use person-centered therapy techniques. (Julie) Express compassion using open-ended questions. (Julie) Attend to non-verbal cues from your client. (Julie)

14 Question 4 What are some big no-nos when it comes to working with clients who feel strongly about losing weight? Julie Duffy Dillon

15 What are no-nos when working with clients who desire weight loss? Don t ignore their desire for weight loss (pretend it doesn t exist). Don t dismiss their desire for weight loss. There is a difference between validating weight loss desire and agreeing with it.

16 Question 5 What are the alternatives to focusing on weight loss that you provide your clients? Julie Duffy Dillon Marsha Hudnall

17 What are alternatives to focusing on weight loss that you can provide? Self-care (Marsha) Shift the focus -- De-emphasize dialogue about weight loss and emphasize change talk that involves radical self-care Mindfulness Overview of mindfulness (Marsha) Notice the before, during, and after of the dieting process (Julie) Respect autonomy - the freedom of choice (Marsha) Stress Management (Marsha)

18 Question 6 How can you manage your biases and mindset when counseling clients who have a desire to lose weight? Kori Kostka Aaron Flores

19 3. What meaning are you giving it? How can you manage your biases and mindset? Become aware of your biases (Aaron) Move towards a positive state (Kori) You can t have a happy ending to an unhappy journey. Reframe and look for learning opportunities: 1. What s your emotional state? 2. What s your story?

20 Question 7 What are some take home messages for viewers in responding to clients who express a desire to lose weight? All speakers

21 Additional Resources Podcasts Trainings Dietitians Unplugged by Aaron Flores, RDN and Glenys Oyston, RDN Love, Food by Julie Duffy Dillon, MS, RD, NCC, LDN, CEDRD Food Psych by Christy Harrison, MPH, RDN, CN Life Unrestricted by Meret Boxler Body Kindness by Rebecca Scritchfield, RDN But I Want to Lose Weight! Helping Clients Shift Their Focus from Weight to Well-Being. Green Mountain at Fox Run

22 Thank you for joining us!